


Edge Of The Earth

by TRCelyne



Category: Mystic Messenger (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Car Racing, Car Chases, F/M, Need For Speed AU, Nonbinary Vanderwood, Rivals to Friends to Lovers, Rivals to Lovers, So Much Sexual Tension, i don't know what cars are I don't even know how I got my driving licence anyway, i'll probably have to write the smut at some point, saeyoung gets cockblocked: a story of his life, supercars
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-30
Updated: 2018-07-30
Packaged: 2019-06-18 20:46:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,602
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15494322
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TRCelyne/pseuds/TRCelyne
Summary: That night, 707 had lost his first race in a long, very long while. After that, she kept on winning against him, overtaking him by a hair’s breadth every single time. The king of the road had been defeated to let a queen arise. No, not a queen. A goddess.A Need For Speed AU





	Edge Of The Earth

**Author's Note:**

> A couple of months ago, I replayed Need For Speed Hot Pursuit on my xbox, and I sorta felt inspired? At first this was supposed to be a one shot, but I decided to cut it into several chapters because it's gonna be too long (as usual, I hate myself sometimes).  
> I don't know shit about cars, so the info you'll get on the ones they use are taken directly from the game or from wikipedia. The names of the songs are taken from the OST of the game.  
> Also those two should get a room and they definitely will :)

Luciel took long gulps from his lukewarm water bottle, leaning against the closed door of his car. The heat was sweltering, summer days becoming sultry with the cloudless sky, leaving him no chance of finding shelter from the burning sun. At least they were going to drive along the coast, where the marine winds brought some freshness and a nice smell of iodine. And his baby car was built to resist such weather, with an air conditioning to die for. The hardest part was to actually get out.

The rules were simple. A two-week long competition, from Incheon to Busan, with one race of thirty five kilometres each day. Only the best could participate, other pilots finding themselves betting high amounts of money on who would win by the end of it. He knew he was in the winners forecast, for 707 was almost a legend in the underground racing world, with his powerful Lamborghini Murciélago LP 640 he had upgraded and pimped himself – adding a large yellow strip, going from the middle of the hood to the roof and the rear, over the bright red steel - to become an asphalt killing machine. With a bit more effort and rocket science, he’d probably make it able to fly someday.

He capped the bottle and licked his lips, his attention drawn to a familiar roaring sound to his right.

Well, what a surprise.

Or maybe not, actually.

How could he have even thought she would not participate? He turned his head, letting his gaze glide along the smooth lines of the white Koenigsegg Agera R. Fifteen copies sold throughout the world, 960CH, body made of carbon fiber and Kevlar, chassis made of the same materials plus aluminium, top speed nearing 400km/h. A racing monster. Even his baby which ranked among the most powerful cars looked like an entry-level model comparing to this godsend hypercar.

And well, pilots tended to match their cars, right? He was sure there was a saying of the sort.

MC – or so was her pilot name - got out of her car in all her glory, lifting her sunglasses to the top of her head, locking her bangs away from her sweaty forehead. He let his gaze wander on her white, close-fitting strap stop, trying his best to ignore the wet spots on the fabric due to her perspiration, then her short shorts, along her gorgeous legs to her plum Dr.Martens. Her long brown hair was tied into a tight ponytail, its ends brushing the small of her back. He felt guilty for checking her out like this, but hey, if she had decided to wear such revealing clothes, he had to make the most of it. It wasn’t like she didn’t look divine in any outfit she wore, anyway.

She had started racing six months before. She had simply showed up on one cold December night, clad in her signature plum Dr.Martens, black skinny jeans and a superb leather jacket with fake fur, claiming she wanted to race as well. The organisers had first laughed her off – the underground racing world, like the official one, did not leave a lot of place for women except for the window-dressing girls hired to help with the bets and signal the start of the races – and she had simply raised an eyebrow at them, not losing her composure. They surely had not liked how unshaken she had seemed, and Luciel had found himself snorting at their dumbstruck reactions. Her cool-headedness had been admirable. A few minutes after she had walked away, when the organisers had been sure this joke of a rich-looking girl was gone, she had barged into the crowd with her beast of a car, her wheels screeching and fuming as she drifted to stop right in front of Vanderwood 3rd, who had been in charge of the race that night. The black window had slowly rolled down, and she had rested her elbow on the ledge without a word. Luciel clearly remembered the silent exchange going on between them, MC lifting her eyebrow at them again, them holding her stare, until they had given up with a sigh and stepped aside to let her go to the starting line.

And not only had she participated that night, but she had also won.

That night, 707 had lost his first race in a long, very long while. After that, she kept on winning against him, overtaking him by a hair’s breadth every single time. The king of the road had been defeated to let a queen arise. No, not a queen. A goddess.

To be fairly honest, the more he raced against her, the more exciting it got. In every sense of the term. Every race was a shot of adrenaline, doping his will to win fairly and with grandiosity; he wanted to conquer his throne back, and his rival made it harder and funnier each day that passed. His curiosity had slowly grown, replacing his pleasantly surprised reaction when she had got out of her car and gasped happily when a shocked Vanderwood had announced that she had been the winner. MC was an interesting person, never acting haughty despite her obvious wealthy background, but quick to put people in their place whenever they disregarded her.

Luciel highly respected her. Thanks to her, he had found pleasure in racing again. She was a more than worthy opponent.

And he also had a huge crush on her.

So yeah, watching her with so few clothing made his throat drier than it already was, and he muttered a small prayer as he fidgeted with the silver cross hanging on his neck in hope to be forgiven for checking her out so shamelessly. She spoke with a couple of people, smiling happily at them, until she glanced at him. Her smile grew larger and she waved at him, visibly glad her rival was there too. He waved back at her with less enthusiasm, too busy trying to kick his impure thoughts out of his brain to manage to concentrate fully on the gesture. She locked her car and walked to him, letting the tip of her fingers brush on the scorching hood of his until she stood next to him.

“Fancy seeing you here.” She said with a playful grin.  
“I could say the same.” He replied, mirroring her expression.  
“At least you’ll make this race more entertaining. It’s funnier when I get to compete against you.” She chuckled.  
“Oh, so you wouldn’t have participated if I hadn’t been there?” Luciel teased.  
She snatched his water bottle and took a few gulps before smiling at him “707, darling, don’t get ahead of yourself. You’re just making it more enjoyable.”  
He couldn’t help but stare at her lips as she licked them to catch the drops that had leaked when he snorted “Glad to be your special someone.”  
She held the bottle back to him and pointed back at the Agera with her thumb “I guess you could say that. Anyway, I gotta to get ready. Hope you’re gonna give all you have, 707. See you later!”

She winked at him then turned around and left without looking back, only to be soon surrounded in a small crowd of people. Luciel sighed and drank what was left in the bottle, before tossing it into the nearest bin.

He was not just going to give everything he had, he was going to blow her. Away of course.

\--

The sun had already set, the sky turning into vivid shades of red and pink. Waves were crashing loudly against the rocks a few meters below the road. Luciel stopped his car right in front of the makeshift starting line and got out, leaning an arm on the roof, patting it gently as if it were his precious pet. He had won the qualifiers, which consisted in a one-by-one time-trial on the route they’d take that evening. Of course, they had not closed the road; the race was unofficial and illegal, like everything related to the underground racing world. It made it more dangerous and exciting.

MC, unexpectedly, would start on third position. She had lost five precious seconds when she had to swerve to avoid a van, and had not managed to catch up afterwards. He had to use this advantage and distance her as fast as possible. He hoped he had enough nitro to manage to do that.

The Agera came in sight and stopped a few meters behind on his right, and she got out as well. He turned to glance at her, and when their eyes met, she finger gunned at him with an impish grin. He stuck his tongue out at her, before bursting into giggles. He could not deny that there was some kind of tension between them, mostly sexual, but also some kind of mutual understanding. They were like the two popular kids competing against each other, unable to focus on anyone else but the other, but also being secretly friends. They played a game. A dangerous one. One miscalculation, and their cars would be reduced to dust in less time they’d need to realise their mistake.

But playing with death was his most favourite part of the game. It made him feel alive.

Vanderwood walked to the middle of the road and waited for the eight pilots to be ready. They checked their watch, then pulled out a gun and fired a distress flare high in the sky. A few seconds later, other flares started shining along the road, signalling that everything was ready and that the coast was clear – in other words, that the cops were not there. Yet. Seven watched closely, and smiled to himself when all the lights had been fired. Vanderwood announced that the race was about to start, and all pilot got into their cars. A symphony of roaring engines came to Luciel’s ears, and he rolled his window down to enjoy the sounds his baby car made. He could also hear the very distinctive sound of the Agera.

He hummed a random tune as his fingers hovered over the screen of his radio, searching for a nice song that could make a nice badass OST for the race. Something that would put him in a good mood. His eyes stopped on a particular song.

The Resist Stance – Bad Religion

Perfect.

As soon as the first guitar riffs echoed loudly around his ears and out of the car, he faintly shook his head in rhythm with the music. Vanderwood lifted their hand high.

He placed his foot over the pedal, his thumb rubbing the button of the handbrake and his hand ready to release it. 

The Agera flashed its lights behind him. He glanced at his right wing mirror.

MC blew him a kiss.

He smirked.

Vanderwood dropped their arm. Luciel barely heard their shout between the screeching of the wheels and the thundering of the machines.

\--

Sometimes he wondered if God wasn’t secretly doing some favouritism.  
Or whichever deity that was in charge of karma, chance, and the like.

MC had won the first race. She had been on his tail for most of it, and he had taken advantage of her lack of precision during drifts to put some distance between them, but the Agera was too fast in straight lines and she always managed to make up for the precious lost seconds. Really, it was all a matter of chance. If the last two kilometres had not been a simple straight line, if he had not been short on nitro, if he had not been forced to squint his eyes at the darkness falling gradually, he could have won. 

But Luciel knew it was all bad faith.

Because she also won the next two ones.

Just seeing her delighted smile after each one stirred his sense of competitiveness, hurt his pride, and yet it made him want to kiss her at the same time. To be fairly honest, it was extremely confusing. Lost in his thoughts and music, the wrench Luciel was holding slipped from his hands and rolled away. He sighed, pulling his headset down on his neck and pushed his rolling creeper using his feet to get out from under his car in hope to retrieve his tool. His momentum was stopped when his head bumped into something, and he looked up. He saw a flash of bare legs and black underwear before MC bent over him, putting her hands on her knees and smiling at him. Luciel felt his cheek redden at the sudden realisation that he had definitely peeked under her skirt without meaning to. And that she had not noticed it. Or maybe she pretended she had not.  
And that was absolutely not the point here. He should be asking himself real questions, and the real question here was: what was she doing in his assigned garage, during their day off, while she could be enjoying the sea or work on her own car?

“Hey.” She greeted with a smile.  
“Uh… Hey.” He mumbled, feeling stupid for having to watch her from a low angle “What brings you here? Do you need something?”  
“Actually, no.” She replied, catching her brown hair surrounding her face to gather it on her shoulders so it would not bother her “I was bored, so I decided to pay you a visit. I hope you don’t mind? If you’re working on something top-secret I can leave.”  
Luciel pushed himself up to sit on the creeper and rolled his shoulders, half turning towards her “I wasn’t. I was just trying to make improvements on my nitro system.”  
“I see.” She simply said, starting to walk around the Murciélago and brushing the tip of her fingers along the bright red body of the Lamborghini, the sound of her steps resonating around them. For a split second, he wished she were touching his skin instead of his car.  
“Get a grip!” He whispered to himself, giving his cheeks a few whacks in hope to gather his thoughts.

MC turned around to look at him, and he gave her a smile in attempt to create a diversion. Her cheeks puffed out as she snorted inelegantly, and burst into laughter the second after, her head tilting back.  
What?

He lifted an eyebrow at her, his lips distorting into an unsettled crooked grin “What’s so funny?”  
“You have grease all over your face!!” She managed between two fits of laughter.

Oh, right. He chuckled and stood up with care, then grabbed the hem of his tank top to wipe the grease away. He only smudged it more. She took deep breaths to calm down, and massaged her jaw with her hands with a wince, for it had started to hurt due to her incessant guffawing. He also noticed how her gaze glided along the line of his abs, and he instantly contracted them on purpose. She then shook her head and walked to him, opened her shoulder bag and pulled out a pack of wipes. She took one and started wiping his face, holding him in place by the chin. Luciel held his breath, his whole body freezing on spot. Well, technically, he wasn’t freezing at all: he felt like his body was on fire, and not only because of the summer heat. MC used several wipes to scrub his face, a long silence stretching between them. She pushed his striped glasses up until they rested on the top of his head, his bangs getting tangled in it. The fresh sensation of the wipes against his sweaty forehead was more than welcome.

“There you go.” She concluded, throwing her fourth wipe on the pile of used ones that had formed at their feet. She grabbed his chin gently and checked his face from different angles.  
Luciel felt self-conscious under her stare, and blushed faintly as he averted his eyes “Thanks.”  
She smiled “You’re welcome. Grease is my worst enemy, so I always have stuff to clean up with me.”  
“That’s pretty clever, I should follow your example.” He replied with a serious nod.  
She let go of his face and turned around to look at his car again “So! You told me you were working on your nitro system? Can I have a look?”  
“Isn’t that industrial espionage?” He teased, bending down to pick up the wipes and throwing them into the nearest bin.  
She looked back at him and pouted, crossing her arms “It’s not! And you know my nitro system is already perfect.”  
“Mmh~ you’re not wrong, I guess.” He chuckled as he bent again to pick up the forgotten wrench “I only have one creeper, though. However, you can still take a look at-“

Luciel lifted his head when the hood of the Murciélago clicked, and MC’s face reappeared from behind the open driver door. Did she just unlock the hood of his car without knowing where the command was?

“I… hope you don’t mind?” She ventured, her voice sounding like a child’s caught doing something bad.  
“Uh… I guess not? How did you know how to open the hood, though?” He replied, blinking in surprise.  
“Oh, that’s because I have a Murciélago too.” She explained, carefully opening the hood of the car and securing it in place “I have the LP 670-4 Super Veloce, so I assumed that they were kind of similar.”

So she had a Koenigsegg and the upgraded version of his Lamborghini?

“You have a Murciélago too?” He incited, lying back down on the creeper to resume his work under the car. Now he could only see her Dr Martens if he tilted his head back and sometimes catch a glimpse of her face for she leaned above the engine to check out his modifications.  
“Yup. Eighteenth birthday present. Mine’s white.” She clarified.  
He whistled “That’s quite the present, if I may.”  
She shrugged “My father knows I’ve always liked sports cars, so he thought I’d like it.”  
“Damn, he must be kinda rich.”  
“He’s the right hand man of one of the country’s biggest company’s CEOs, so I guess I can say he is quite rich.”  
Luciel pulled his glasses back down and made himself comfortable before picking up his wrench to work again “What about the Agera? Twentieth birthday present?”  
“Engagement present, actually.”

Luciel gasped under his breath, as if the air couldn’t reach his lungs. There was something odd in his chest, squeezing his ribcage uncomfortably. She was… engaged. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then resumed his work. She looked at him through the engine, waiting for him to react. Feeling her gaze on him, he kept a straight face on and pretended to sound casual when he spoke.

“Your fiancé probably won’t like you using his car to take part in illegal races.” He managed with a forced chuckle.  
“Well, he doesn’t have a thing to say in the matter anymore. It’s my car now.” She let a second pass, then added “…and I broke it off. The engagement.”  
Luciel smiled, a bit more genuinely this time “You did? How come?”  
“The rich world is not my thing. I mean, it’s convenient, I don’t deny it, it’s not like everyone could buy an Agera on a whim – even for me it was a bit expensive – but apart from that I never felt I belonged there. The etiquette, the expectations, the “sit down, look pretty” attitude expected from me… It’s just not my thing. So I caused some ruckus to be put on the sideline and avoid being seen again.”  
“And the guy was ashamed to be engaged to such a free independent woman?” he ventured playfully.  
She fidgeted with the gauge of the engine oil, absentmindedly checking it “Actually, we didn’t have a thing to say in the matter. Our parents decided to marry us off to ensure the longevity of C&R, but neither of us wanted that. We’ve been friends for a long time but we couldn’t imagine ourselves as husband and wife. Your oil is kinda low, you should add some.”  
Luciel forced a bit harder on his wrench with a grunt “Could you do it if you’re not busy?”  
“You’re not scared I might sabotage your car?” She teased.  
“You’d have done it a long time ago if that was your plan.” He snorted.  
A quiet chuckle came to his ears “I guess so!”

He heard her footsteps around him as she walked around to get her hands on some oil. A comfortable silence set in, the two of them working on their respective parts of the car. She hummed a random tune when she filled the engine, and he listened to her warm voice with a smile.

“You know…” She finally said.  
“Yeah?”  
“I’m glad I met you.”  
He rolled his way out from under the car to look at her, carefully avoiding peeking under her skirt this time “My my~ Are you confessing to me now?”  
She rolled her eyes but the faint red on her cheeks didn’t go unnoticed to him “That’s not what I meant.”

He sat up, pivoting his creeper to face her more properly. She squatted next to him, tucking her skirt between her legs so it would not touch the dirty floor, resting her forearms on her knees.

“What did you mean, then?” He ventured.  
“The first night I showed up, I was scared people would belittle me and be nasty just because I’m a woman and that I suddenly started winning with my beast of a car, like a cheater.” She explained “But you didn’t.”  
Luciel shrugged “You’re skilled, you deserve to be the first. Well, second, because I’m the best.” He teased.  
“As far as I remember, you’ve never won against me.” She smirked.  
He made a smug face “That’s because I’m secretly training to crush you someday. I’ll go so fast you won’t even see me dash away.”  
“Yeah, sure.” MC snorted. She looked at him, and he felt his heart beat slightly faster under her intense gaze “Thanks for being my friend, 707. Or rival …Or whatever we are.”  
“You’re welcome.” He winked at her “You make races funnier, you know. I was almost bored before you showed up.”  
“Oh, so I’m spicing up your nights?” She teased back.  
He gave her a hungry smirk “You have no idea.”  
She stared at his lips, faintly biting her own “I’m glad I do.”

A silence settled in. Luciel felt something stir in his stomach as he stared at her, butterflies fluttering in his guts and making his breath heavier. MC stared back, her cheeks reddening a bit and her lips parted ever so faintly. With an aching slowness, she kneeled and put her left hand on the ground for balance as she leaned towards him. She took his glasses off and hooked them on the collar of his tank top, then brushed her fingertips on his jaw. His breath hitched, but he remained still. 

“Close your eyes.” She ordered.

He obeyed, and he tried to focus on his breath to keep it steady. Her fingers travelled along his throat, and he felt her nose brushing on his cheek. He didn’t know if time had slowed down or stopped, but it strangely felt like it had. Before he had the time to turn his head and claim her lips, she tilted hers and nibbled the skin under his ear.

That set his body and brain on fire.  
He wanted her. He wanted her so much.

A low growl escaped his throat, his body torn between letting her do and kissing her back, and his mind calculating if it would be easier to take her on the hood or the backseat of the car. That was pathetic, to feel turned on like that for a mere grazing of teeth, but God, he had dreamt of this so many times it was hard to keep calm.

“707, have you seen- oh my god can’t you guys keep a bit of decency?”

Both of them jumped in surprise and turned to the entrance of the garage, where Vanderwood were standing, a disgusted expression on their face.

“Decency? What are you talking about?” MC chirped innocently “I was just telling him a secret~.”  
“Yeah, sure.” They groaned, rolling their eyes “Anyway, I need to talk to you. It’s urgent.”  
She stood up and dusted her skirt “Sure, no problem. I’ll be there in a minute.”  
“I’ll be waiting with the others.” They said, walking away and visibly trying to unsee.

Luciel didn’t know he actually hated Vanderwood until right now.

“That fucking author is going at it again.” He mumbled under his breath.  
“You said something?” MC asked, checking if she had all her belongings.  
“Just complaining about someone ruining the mood, I’m fine.” He grumbled, putting his glasses back on.  
“It’s fine. We’ll have plenty of other occasions.” She walked to the entrance, the sunlight making a halo behind her “If you win the next race, that is.”  
“Is that a bet?” he smirked.

She shrugged, smiling, and left without a word.

\--

Luciel felt restless the rest of the day. The entire following night as well, his overworking imagination coming up with scenarios, whose number increased exponentially with the hours. Her lack of answer was hard to interpret. Was it a bet? What would she do if she lost? If she won? Wasn’t it a carrot and stick approach? Not that he minded. He just wondered how efficient the promise of… He didn’t know exactly what, would be on him.

What was sure is that his sleep was filled with unwelcome thoughts and fantasies. Damn subconscious.

When she greeted him the following morning with a radiant smile, he looked down in shame.

Apparently, the stick worked more than the carrot. He did a shitty qualifier time and ended up on sixth position for their race of the night. MC was second. Luciel grumbled to himself and whacked his cheeks repeatedly with his hands in attempt to gather his thoughts, while they waited in their cars for the distress flares to be fired.

“Get your shit together, dude.” He mumbled.

He jumped in surprise when someone knocked on his window. It was her. He rolled the window down and gave her his most genuine smile.

“‘sup pretty lady. Someone’s chickening out?” He purred.  
“You wish.” She snorted, crossing her arms on the edge of the window “I just wanted to wish you good luck for tonight.”  
“You’ve managed to destroy my concentration already, do you want to make sure my car won’t start or something?” He chuckled.  
She pouted “I thought I’d manage to motivate you, actually. I heard that men’s psychology was pretty simple.”  
“My my, you’re being full of prejudice here.” He teased, leaning closer “What were you thinking, that you’d be able to get me with that pretty mouth of yours?”  
She shrugged “Worth the try, I guess. It’s not like I did it only for you.”  
Luciel blinked “…What?”  
She tilted her head to the side as she giggled, strands of her long brown hair falling in her neck in the process “I can’t believe the others say you’re a genius, you can be so oblivious sometimes.” She patted his cheek and stood back up “Anyway, good luck, 707.”

She turned around and walked back to her car. His eyes never left her silhouette, until she closed the door of the Agera.

To be honest, he didn’t know if she was an angel or the devil.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed this first chapter! Please tell me your thoughts or things you'd like to see in the next chapters!


End file.
